University of Georgia (UGA) Costa Rica is an official international residential campus of the University of Georgia. The campus is located in the small community of San Luis de Monteverde, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. ¡Pura Vida!

Fun Fact Friday

Well we had planned on revealing the new Costa Rican president to you today, but in a shocking turn of events, the election was inconclusive! It was too close. Citizens Action Party candidate Luis Guillermo Solís had 30.95 percent of the votes, while the candidate of the National Liberation Party Johnny Araya got 29.59 percent. The results indicate that a second round of voting must be held April 6th, as neither of the top candidates got 40% of votes (the minimum to be declared the winner).

Citizens Action Party candidate Luis Guillermo Solís.

This was also the first year that Costa Ricans abroad could vote in the election. However, the turnout was less than stellar. Out of 12,654 registered voters living outside of Costa Rica, only 2,771 actually cast a vote. The Supreme Elections Tribunal authorities have a couple of theories as to why the turnout was low: the weather at some of the major voting polls in the US was pretty brutal, the elections occurred at the same time as the Chinese New Year celebration, and perhaps most influential was the fact that they coincided with the Super Bowl! The biggest polling station in the US was in New York City, and Super Bowl traffic hindered transportation.

National Liberation Party candidate Johnny Araya.

Who knew, right? I guess we’ll keep you updated. Tune back in around April 6th for further developments!

Wanna see another fun thing? This music video celebrates CR’s elections and democratic tradition.